Life In The Mansion
by Dudewhatdidyousay
Summary: Have you ever wondered what happened in the lives of the portrait ghosts before E. Gadd came into the scene? Well, I did, so I made this story. Neville is fed up with spending all his time reading books, so he decides to visit the hundreds of other ghosts in the mansion, starting with his own family. Friendships will blossom, others will fail to.
1. Neville Branches Out

_**Life In The Mansion**_

 **Chapter 1: Neville Branches Out.**

Deep in the dark woods, full of cawing crows and other such creatures often deemed spooky, there lies a large mansion. It is an old and decrepit home, the whole exterior colored a sickly dark green color. It is quite an unappealing sight, to say the least. But, being a mansion, it is expansive, with plenty of room to explore. Everyone who has had the idea of exploring it, however, has never returned. Inside this mansion, however, there lives spirits and spooks of all kinds. They don't exactly live in perfect harmony, but for the most part they've agreed to leave each other to their own things. Some friendships bloom, others are stomped...This is the story of a family that was separated after entering the afterlife. In time, they will meet the other inhabitants of the mansion.

Tick tock goes the great grandfather clock. In the Study, the studious ghost, Neville, reclines in his chair. He looks up towards the clock that ticked so, giving a small sigh. He starts to rock the chair back and forth as he reads a new book titled "The Intricacy of Family Dilemma". He had been drawn to it due to the terms he agreed to bide by with the rest of the ghosts - that of which being "do not disturb your fellow spirit when they do not wish to be disturbed".

"Oh, I remember the days when I was with Lynda...This afterlife is supposed to be a dream come true for me, with all the books I could possibly read, but all it has done is make emptiness more apparent in my life. Now she's cooped up in the Master Bedroom, spending all of her time making her hair look the fairest it has ever been. But what use is that when no one is there to marvel at her?" Neville says.

The lonely, bored ghost continued to read his book. So far, his afterlife had been spent reading and nothing more. Sure, it helped him catch up on his favorite past time and get away from the family drama, but it appears that the continuous reading has gotten stale to Neville. He finds himself wanting to see his family again - Lynda, Chauncey, Henry and Orville...It's a small family, but a family nonetheless.

"That's it, I'm tired of rummaging around the Study. I'm tired of this lonely feeling biting at my heart! I need to see Lynda, Chauncey, Henry and Orville, at least this once!" Neville tells himself.

That is when he decides to go on a trip around the mansion. It had been many years since the old ghost that was quite young compared to most other ghosts had even been out of the Study, so he already forgot what room most all of the doors lead to in the enormous mansion he and hundreds of other ghosts, the majority of which were unable to inherit the looks of their corporeal form, call home. Neville phased through the door of the Study, finding himself in one of the many hallways in the mansion. If there's one thing he remembers, it's that the Study, Master Bedroom, Nursery and The Twins' Room are all in the same hallway. Moving towards the end of the hallway, he came across the door that lead to the Master Bedroom. He attempted to knock, but realized that he was unable to due to ghost physiology.

"Honey, may I come in?" He asked.

Lynda looked towards the door to the room she's always cooped up in. With an expression of irritation, she continues to brush her long blonde hair, trying to get it absolutely perfect.

"Uh, just a moment, dear!" She calls out to her husband.

For a while, Lynda continues to do this. Neville sits at the door, waiting ever so patiently - he knows how his wife naturally is when it came to these kinds of things, and of course he doesn't want to start any problems. Soon enough, the blonde decided her hair was good.

"Okay, you can come in now, honey!" Lynda announces.

Neville promptly enters the Master Bedroom after hearing his wife's response. He takes a moment to look at his surroundings a bit before focusing his attention on Lynda. The two both wear smiles and Neville twirls his brown handlebar mustache; in all this time, he forgot just how beautiful his wife looked, especially nowadays. He remembers vividly the day he first met her...It was quite a nice time. Looking to catch Lynda offguard, he rushes in for a kiss. It successfully catched Lynda by surprise. He let out a hearty chuckle as she goes in for a kiss as well.

"Oh, honey, I missed you so much. You spend all this time brushing your hair, and that seems a little pointless when you don't have anyone to marvel at it. But now, you do! Ohohoho!" Neville says.

"Pointless? Dear, you don't understand - my hair is very precious! But I suppose its nice to have someone actually see it." Lynda replies.

Both ghosts laughed. The lonely feeling biting at Neville's chest earlier had been quelled for the most part. Seeing Lynda again after such a long time of solitude really inspired life inside the spirit. His mind moved towards another subject that he had been thinking about often at the Study.

"Oh, Lynda, how's Chauncey and the twins doing?" Neville asks.

"They're doing great! Chauncey can speak in coherent sentences now and the twins are having fun in their little bunker room." Lynda answers, looking to be quite happy as she spoke.

Neville nods in response. He's happy to know that the kids are doing okay, and the fact that his youngest son can speak in full sentences now is nice for a father to know. With this reconnection, Neville feels inspired. He finds himself wanting to make a sort of family get together...

"Lydia, do you think you could set up a family get together? Chauncey and the twins never get to see their daddy, and I'm in the mood for it." Neville suggests.

"A family get together? Why, that sounds splendid, honey! Let's do it tomorrow. I'll let the twins know. We're going to have to have it at the Nursery though - we wouldn't want to bring Chauncey into unfamiliar territory." Lynda responds with enthusiasm.

And so, a ghostly father that was separate from his family for a large amount of time due to his seclusive nature decides to become part of it for good...


	2. The Family Get-Together

_**Life In The Mansion**_

 **Chapter 2: The Family Get Together**

It was morning at the mansion deep in the dark woods. But the dark, dead trees always blocked out the sun, making the place certainly live up to its name. Because of that, there was always little visible difference between day and night, between the dusk and dawn. For a while, this day looked to be a fairly normal one for Neville. He was resting in the chair he spent the majority of his time in, the grandfather clock above him ticking as always. One could only wonder how that clock was still functional, as it and the decrepit wooden wall that it was mounted on were both practically ancient. Truly a curious thought, indeed...

At approximately 2:30 in the morning, the mustachioed, middle-aged ghost known as Neville had awoken from his near slumber of his body's own accord, waking with the "sun" of these woods. Once Neville had awoken, his mind was immediately directed towards the family reunion he was planning - by now, Lydia must have told the twins, Henry and Orville, about it, and, surely, the time would soon be upon him. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Neville felt excitement. There was a feeling of birds circling around his stomach, something he hadn't felt in a long time, as he pondered on what will happen when this meeting is to occur. What would the twins and Chauncey think when they saw him? Would they even recognize their own father, after all this time having been separated from him? With these thoughts swirling around his mind, he peered out the door of the Study, bearing witness to Lynda, Henry and Orville talking. He looked on, spectating the conversation.

"We get to see daddy, little bro, AND you at the same time?! This is the greatest thing ever!" Henry and Orville exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Neville promptly phased out of the door of the Study, more than ready to meet his family after all this time. He had spent so long being couped up in a chair, doing nothing aside from reading, so getting outside for once and spending time with family members would be much needed. Once Neville had approached Lydia, Henry and Orville in the dark mansion they were all so accustomed to, he wore a big smile underneath his bushy handlebar mustache. Almost immediately, Henry and Orville went in for hugs, ecstatic to finally see their father after so long. Lydia watched as this happened, expressing some joy. She, too, needed to spend some time not fixated on herself; her physical appearance really shouldn't take precedence over her own family, even if she does have all eternity to talk to them and doesn't really have to nurture them, with the obvious exception of Chauncey.

Henry started to climb up on his father from his right arm, confusing Neville, but making him smile and chuckle nonetheless. Seeing this, the second boy, Orville, followed his brother's lead, leaping onto his father's left arm, giggling and looking quite happy overall. The twins climbed up on their father's shoulders and tried to stand on them, as if they were attempting to imitate an animal. Neville raised one of his bushy eyebrows in response, looking at the twins, who were on his two shoulders now. Something like this had never really happened to him to his memory, but there was a certain quality about the action that inspired deja vu in the father's mind.

"Do you kids see me as a bird now? Is that why you're 'perched' on my shoulders?" Neville asked in a playful manner.

"We're your pet parrots, daddy! Teehee!" Henry answered, the innocence seen and heard in most children very much expressed in the tone of his high pitched voice.

"Yeah, parrots!" Orville chimed in, a certain jovialness expressed in his almost equally as squeaky voice.

Lydia and Neville found themselves laughing in response to this sight, this action of childhood playfulness. The twins had the imagination and innocence not atypical of most children, which the two parents considered quite cute. Neville, being careful so as to not ruin the fun that the twins seemed to show despite not understanding it himself, decided to let Henry and Orville stay on his shoulders. With newfound weight on his shoulders, he moved considerably slower than Lydia did, and so the blonde would often slow herself down so that Neville could catch up to her. After a small trip through the dark corridors that were all over the Mansion, they had approached the Nursery, their destination and the place where Chauncey was housed. With the twins still hanging around on his body, Neville phased into the Nursery alongside Lydia. Upon entering, the two parents approached the cradle of Chauncey, the baby of the family, with a look of awe.

Despite not having seen Chauncey in a long time, Neville was well aware of how angry the young child could get when awoken, and so he lowered his voice. Lydia had experience with the baby, and she was also the only one who cared for him. He trusted her, so she was the only one who could wake Chauncey up without him crying. Neville stepped aside, the twins eyeing Chauncey with curiosity, gesturing for his wife to go towards the crib. The blonde decided to do so, walking ever so slowly and quietly towards the bed. Gently and with much caution, she put her head and body close to the baby's cradle, looking her child directly in the eye with a sweet look on her face.

"Chauncey, sweetie, it's time to wake up." She whispered in a serene, gentle tone of voice that only a mother could have.

The ghost baby's eyes opened up ever so slowly, revealing his glowing yellow eyes which he shared with the rest of the ghosts in the Mansion. Chauncey turned his head often, looking at his surroundings with what appeared to be caution. But it was the same old Nursery, the same old room he was more than familar with. The baby wore a smile and cooed as most babies did, despite the fact that he had recently become capable of speech. The action seemed to be entirely out of instinct, which was certainly understandable. Chauncey's eyes immediately moved towards his father, his attention locked on the mustachoied man, much to Neville's surprise. The smile of the ghostly baby seemed to grow larger and more joyful in nature when he landed his large, solid yellow eyes on his father - despite the fact that Neville wasn't very present in his life, Chauncey did not seem to carry any ill will towards his studious father.

"Daddy...Is that you?" Chauncey asked.

Neville was emotionally moved by Chauncey's words and his actions. Something as simple as the baby's attention turning to him before anyone else made him ecstatic, made him relieved. With much emotion, the middle-aged ghost picked up his tiny child, practically twirling with the ghostly baby in tow out of the sheer joy he felt. Neville wore a wide smile as he looked his baby directly in the eye, and a fuzzy feeling touched his (figurative) heart as he kept Chauncey in his hands. He was glad that his fears never came true, neither with the twins nor the baby. No ill will was noticeable in neither Chauncey, Henry, nor Orville, bringing him relief.

Lydia watched on, finding this action quite peculiar; despite how long she has known Neville, she's never quite known him to do something like _that._ It was a cute sight, sure, just rather unexpected to the spectral lady.

"Yes, Chauncey, yes. It's me, your daddy! I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally see you again. Did you miss me? Does mommy take good care of you?" The ghost father answered.

"Yes and yes!" Chauncey simply said, his voice nearly being drowned out by the constant cooing he was doing.

Lydia would nod in approval, her face clearly expressing some sort of mixture of joy and sadness, still keeping her attention on Chauncey. A small tear fell down her face; this event, this much needed family reunion, was just so beautiful to her. Henry and Orville looked very interested in Chauncey. He could talk before they could, which was certainly impressive to the two little onlookers. Neville kept Chauncey in his hands only a little longer before he had to put the child down, to ensure that he would not cry. The feeling of beauty that Lydia felt was reciprocated by Neville, making him look quite touched.

Chauncey started to suck on his pacifier, his signature blue and yellow binky, and looked to be quite comfy in his bed. With his family watching over him, the spectral baby felt happy and safe. Neville looked around the Nursery; now that he thought of it, he realized that he hadn't really been there in a long time. Only when Chauncey was just born was he really present there. Soon, his attention turned towards the exit door - this was a wonderful visit, but Chauncey was still a baby, and likely wanted to be left alone.

"All right, I think it'd be best if we go now. I'll be back to see you again sometime soon, Chauncey!" Neville said.

"Goodbye, Chauncey!" Henry and Orville said at nearly the same time.

Lydia walked up to her child ever so slowly, giving him a peck on the cheek. She soon joined her husband in the departure, phasing out of the Nursery door together. The twins were still on their father's shoulders, seeming to really enjoy it. Henry tugged at Neville's ear a few times, presumably just for a little mischievous fun. He gave the boy a questioning look before returning to what he was doing. Neville pondered as to the intention of that action, why exactly his son pulled on his ear, but he soon just ignored it and moved on, figuring that it was just an attempt to play.

As he looked around the dark hallways, a thought popped into the mustachioed father's head; did other ghosts live here? This was a question that he was surprised he hadn't asked before, but the thought of it really interested him. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that there were other spirits that made this giant mansion their home, and perhaps there were other specters that managed to retain their corporeal form? Whatever the case may have been, the curiosity nagged at Neville. Lydia had very much noticed the curiosity in her husband's face, the inquisitive look he wore, not unlike that of which he wears during a good book. Henry and Orville had finally grown bored of being on their father's shoulders, and so they had removed themselves from it, jumping down to the ground. Seeing this, Lydia walked up to Neville, finding herself curious on the thoughts of the man she married.

"Neville, dear, what may you be thinking of at this moment?" Lydia asked, her voice expressing curiosity.

The studious ghost turned to look at his wife, the same face of curiosity remaining on his pale blue head. For a moment, he was almost unsure of what to say. If there were other ghosts here, he wanted to see them. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Neville wanted to meet new faces, possibly make new friends. If Lydia were to hear his honest thoughts, he was unsure of how she'd respond. But, regardless, he wanted to keep true to his wife, and so he eventually decided on telling the truth.

"Oh, honey, I've just been thinking of how empty this place is. I feel that, if we were to venture out of our rooms and into new territory, we may find new ghosts, new people, to meet. It's great with just you, me, Henry and Orville, but the thought of there being a whole community of ghosts just like us that we didn't even know lived here...It just interests me." Neville answered with a small sigh, his tone showing that this was, indeed, his genuine thoughts.

Lydia put a finger under her thin chin, contemplating on what her husband had just said. Henry and Orville, as well, thought on this topic. They certainly had no problem with it, but Lydia didn't agree. She couldn't see how there could be any ghosts like her, Neville, and the children. And, even if there were, wouldn't they have explored the mansion by this point, in search of ghosts like them? Perhaps Neville could be the first to do that...

"Neville, I'm sorry to say it, but I don't think you'll find ghosts like us in the mansion. If they were around, I think they'd have visited us by now...But, if you'd like to go, you can, but I just don't see a reason to go with you." Lydia responded, being frank with her husband.

Neville gave an understanding nod. For now, the mustachioed ghost would play with the twins a bit. But, once the never-present sun goes down, later on in the day, the father will go on a trip to try and satiate his curiosity. Lydia went up to her husband gave him a kiss before leaving, going back to the Master Bedroom. He watched as she phased through the door, as if he was wondering what she was doing. Now that he was alone with the twins, Neville patted them on the head, signaling towards the hallway. He prepared himself to play with his children; but, first thing in the afternoon, he promised himself that he will go to visit the other ghosts that he truly believed were present in the mansion...


	3. Mr Luggs

_**"Life In The Mansion"**_

 **Chapter 3: Mr. Luggs**

The twins, Henry and Orville, were fast asleep in their little beds, looking as if it would be difficult to awaken them. Lydia had returned to the Master Bedroom, making her way back to the mirror so that she could obsessively comb her hair and examine herself as per usual. But Neville did not venture back to the Study, nor did he fall asleep in the sturdy, old rocking chair he typically slept in. No, this spectral father had a particular desire for something, a burning inquisitiveness about him. There was but one question on his aged mind, and that was the question of if there were other ghosts like him and his family. Ghosts that retained their corporeal form, keeping their humanity even in death. It all left a mark of pure intrigue in him. Making his way through the hallway and keeping the noise levels down so as to not disturb his lovely sleeping family, Neville had made his first steps on his very first journey through the mansion.

The middle-aged specter had never felt as adventurous, intrigued, and hopeful of what he may find as he did at that moment. A sort of compulsive energy traveled through his veins, that of which no longer controlled the ebb and flow of blood, the crimson fluid of life, of the body. Making his way through the hallway, Neville phased through the door, finding himself in a part of the mansion he just barely remembered being in before - the Foyer. The place was very dimly lit and considerably decrepit, but that was nothing he hadn't encountered before. Neville had found that the entrance of the hallway connecting the Nursery, the Twins' Room, the Master Bedroom and the Study was actually located in a stairway on the Foyer, that of which contained two different doors. Interested, the mustachioed ghost descended down the fairly small amount of stairs. Greeted by a big door in front of him and the exit to the mansion behind him, Neville chose the large door for the beginning of his investigation.

Phasing through the large door, the curious phantom found himself in the middle of a long, narrow hallway. There was another door right in front of the entrance, which Neville found quite peculiar. He could hear strange noises inside the room of this nearby door that sounded almost like...Sloppy eating? What could possibly be making so much of a racket from eating alone, and why would someone choose this time to dine? Needless to say, Neville was interested - if this ended up being a more human-like ghost, then that'd mean his suspicions were right. The studious ghost attempted to knock on the door in front of him, but was unable to for reasons he was ashamed he didn't know already. So he decided to use vocals to get whoever was in the room's attention.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Neville asked, looking to grab the attention of whoever the room belonged to.

The mustachioed ghost continued to levitate above the ground like all ghosts do. He clasped his hands together in anticipation. He hoped that the man or woman of this room was friendly, or at least wasn't too busy to come say hello - that would be somewhat awkward, and might result in wasted time. The sound of messy eating continued on, leaving Neville perplexed.

"I am afraid that Master Luggs is preoccupied at the moment. He is focused on his fine dining and would not like any visitors until he is completely finished." An elegant, British voice called out to the other ghost.

"Would you be willing to let me know when he is done? I will gladly wait." Neville responded.

"...Very well then. I will ask Master Luggs once he has finished about letting you visit, and will inform you of his decision." The voice said.

And so, Neville waited near the door. He waited a very long time, sitting just outside for what felt like almost ages. After about two hours had passed, the one in the room had finally finished. No longer did Neville have to endure the long wait, nor did he have to sit through the constant sounds of what seemed almost like a pig eating. Now, he just waited on a response...

"What's this about someone wantin' to visit me? I'm done eatin', so come on in!" A rough voice remarked.

With that, Neville promptly entered the room. He looked around a bit, seeing a bunch of small white ghosts that looked like sheets put on a human figure with a black bowtie on them. A classy fashion choice, indeed! Perhaps one of these ghosts was the one that answered his call. Regardless, Neville finally found the man of the hour. And with one mere glance at the ghost he waited so long to visit...well, let's just say that everything clicked in his mind. The rather skinny, middle-aged, blue-skinned ghost was greeted by a large, significantly overweight, pink-skinned ghost with a red nose and dark blue hair. The almost balloon-like body of the ghost was accompanied by a red shirt with a few holes in it that looked to be made of some sort of cloth, a old, dirtied handkerchief hanging from his fat neck. Neville had seen a lot of things in his life, but this man was perhaps the most disgusting-looking ghost he had ever seen, and the look of surprise was evident on his face.

"Hahaha! Oh, I know what yer thinkin', laddie. You ain't ever seen someone that eats like me, I'm sure. Everyone said that when I was alive, don't ye worry 'bout offendin' me!" The man that was apparently named Luggs said.

"Oh. Well, uh, it's nice to meet you. My name is Neville. Uh, your name is Luggs, right? One of your ghosts spoke to me and called you that. Of course, he added a title out of respect." Neville responded.

The pink, overweight ghost that was so very fond of eating nodded in response, confirming his visitor's statement. Neville had hoped this wouldn't be an awkward encounter, but Luggs was surprisingly rather welcoming. The obese specter almost reminded him of someone, but he was unsure who; perhaps an old friend in life.

"Tell you what, I didn't think I'd find another ghost like meself! Outside this Dinin' Room, I thought there was nuthin' but those annoyin' gold and blue ones that look nuthin' like ye and I." Luggs remarked.

"That's funny, I came here because of the curiosity behind that thought. It was, well, somewhat difficult not to notice you." Neville said.

To that, Luggs bellowed a jolly laugh. He knew exactly what his visitor was referring to and found it rather humorous, leaving the mustachioed ghost puzzled. Neville expected the ghost to get offended, but instead he got the opposite reaction. It was somewhat pleasant, actually, but it was still outside of his comfort zone.

"So, I saw that your room is located in a vast hallway of doors. Have you ever wondered what lies outside? Have you ever pondered as to if there are more ghosts like you and I?" Neville questioned.

That appeared to be a question that Luggs had to think about. He put a hand under his fat chin in contemplation, thinking about what his answer would be and what exactly he would say.

"Aye. But I always thought that I was the only ghost that looked human. Your visit shows me that there's more'a us, that's fer sure!" The rather gluttonous ghost answered.

It appeared that, just like Lydia, the twins, and, for a time, Neville himself, Luggs had assumed there weren't any more ghosts that lived in the mansion that were more human. It appeared both ghosts were happy to have their initial thoughts be proven wrong. Soon, everything fell to silence. Neville and Luggs went quiet, apparently in some form of contemplation or deeper thought. Soon, that silence was broken by the balloon-shaped ghost slamming his hand on the ground. The ghost butlers were intimidated, and got to making food.

"Appreciate yer visit, laddie, but I got food on me mind!" Luggs remarked, making a laugh that shook the table with it's force.

Neville wanted to say more. He wished to learn more about Luggs, about his previous life and what inspired him to become so engulfed in consuming food. But the overweight, pink ghost seemed to be very serious about his food, so the studious, blue ghost backed off, phasing through the door located further off to the right from the one he initially came from. He was relieved that his exploration wasn't all for naught, that he had truly found a more human ghost. But that inspired more questions. What other ghosts were there in the Mansion? Surely not all of them were as open as Luggs seemed to be, right?

This was one small step in the exploration of one huge household, and Neville's heart fluttered with curiosity at the thought of encountering all different kinds of ghosts. He looked at the hallway in front of him that leads to another part of the hallway upwards. Right next to him was another door that he could hear faint music from...


	4. The Floating Whirlindas

_**Life In The Mansion**_

 **Chapter 4: The Floating Whirlindas**

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_ _In Luigi's Mansion, the floating Whirlindas are not given separate names. They are either referred to collectively as the Whirlindas, or are just called "Mr. Whirlinda" and "Ms. Whirlinda". Using the power of fanon, I have given them real names that I have taken from the vast compendium of French names, since I see them as having a bit of a French influence more than anything else in their design._

It was dimly lit in the mansion as always. The great, nearly ancient grandfather clock back in the Study would have been ringing at this point in time. Neville had just left the Dining Room, having had met the gluttonous Luggs, who's mere presence answered his question on if there were other ghosts that kept traces of their humanity. While Neville had been given a whole afterlife's worth of books to read, it appears that Luggs had chosen an afterlife of constant eating. Really, Neville found the sight rather sad; books were something that had substance to them, something that weren't straight up unhealthy to constantly indulge in. Spending your whole afterlife eating is bound to get boring at some point. Although ghosts are unable to suffer from things that affect the living, meaning that Luggs is safe, Neville still found himself feeling somewhat bad for the pink, obese ghost.

But he knew that he had to continue on. Luggs was just the first ghost that the mustachioed specter had met, and Neville wasn't one to believe that Lydia, Chauncey, Henry, Orville, Luggs and himself were the only human-like ghosts. To him, it only made sense that there were many more living in the mansion. Lucky for him, right behind the door he had exited Lugg's room from was another door. Getting as close to the door as he could, Neville could hear the sound of music that was energetic, fun and vintage. He wasn't much of a music kind of person, not in life nor in death, but he found himself bobbing his head up and down a bit in rhythm with what little he could hear of the music. With a burning curiosity inside, he decided to try and get the attention of the people inside.

"Hello? Would the ghost inside here be interested in having a visitor?" Neville asked.

For a moment, the music continued. Neville awaited the answer of the ghosts inside, pondering if he/she was even able to hear him over the noise. In the snap of a finger, the music stopped ever so suddenly. A complete silence fell over the dark hallway, making for an environment that would likely frighten or creep out the living. Eventually, Neville could hear the sounds of someone moving inside. He was about to ask the ghost inside again, but, before he could speak, he got his answer.

"Ah, a visitor? Why, that sounds amahzing! Come right in, don't be shy or nervous. We have a performance just for you, hon hon hon!" A suave, masculine voice responded.

Neville was expecting a more hostile response, but he was certainly grateful that he had met another friendly ghost. The studious, blue ghost promptly phased through the door, keeping a smile on his face. He had just entered the Ball Room, and he was met with a fancy decor and an overall nice looking room. There were circular designs on the fine brown carpet, a black and white checkerboard pattern inside of the circles and a gold and red outer rim. There were paintings, chairs and other objects lined up on the same wall, beautiful red and gold curtains effectively walling them off from each other. The whole place carried a very classic and elegant feel overall, a quality that Neville could not find in any other room of the mansion that he has explored thus far. But, somewhat similar to what happened with Luggs, one look at his host told him exactly why this design choice was made.

To Neville's surprise, there were actually two ghosts in the Ball Room - one female and one male. The man was wearing a fancy rose red tuxedo with a pink vest underneath and a pink bowtie. He was wearing white gloves and, unlike Luggs, he actually had the same skin color as Neville. The man had blonde hair that was styled into a clean, slicked-back look. The woman had light purple eye-shadow, a rather natural-looking green gown, and had curly blonde hair. She was wearing a rose red lipstick and her gown seemed to come with cuffs that were colored lighter green. They looked almost as if they could have been his own children, which certainly shocked Neville.

While Neville was pondering on the nature of the two ghosts, the man promptly moved towards the machine that was making the music from before - a record player from the good old days - and looked as if he was ready to turn the music back on. He looked towards Neville, giving him a little wink.

"We're going to dance for our fine guest. We, the floating Whirlindas, will put on a show for you, mon amie! And we guarantee that it is one you will never forget." The man announced, a tone of excitement evident in his heavily French accented voice.

"I appreciate the gesture, but we don't even know each other's names yet." Neville said, his tone fairly frank in nature.

The man held his hands up in the air near him and clapped twice before turning the record player back on, replaying the song from the beginning. Neville couldn't quite identify the piece, but he knew that it was the same one he heard before. The well-dressed man jumped gracefully to his female compadre, soon joining her in a dance. The movement of the two sharply dressed blondes were well coordinated and nice looking, but Neville never was a very dance-orientated person. He compared it to books he had read on the subject, ones that spoke of good form, group effort, and just all sorts of things on dancing solo or dancing with a partner. That was really the booksmart ghost's only thing to compare the dancing to.

Neville floated towards a nearby fancy red chair, levitating above it since his body could not touch it. Although he found himself liking the performance, the mustachioed specter felt strange that these "floating Whirlinda" folk hadn't even introduced themselves before breaking into dance and song. From Neville's knowledge, their dancing was quite reminiscent of tango, but seemed more like a salsa of sorts. He truly didn't know for sure, but whatever kind of dance it was, it was quite the charming one. Both the man and the woman seemed to know exactly what move to do next, and they were always in almost perfect sync with each other. If Neville didn't know any better, he would have thought they'd practiced it many times before!

Soon enough, the two had finished their dance once the song was over. The woman went to the record player this time, and the man approached Neville with a wide smile on his face. Neville got out of his chair, turning to face this dance-loving, suave spirit with a look of interest. The woman swapped the record out with another one, putting the record she had taken out in a translucent case with the name of the song written on the case with what looked like a black permanent marker.

"Ohoho, that was fun indeed! We haven't danced for anyone but ourselves in so long. That felt almost refreshing. So, what would you rate the dance? Ehm, 1 out of 10, of course." The man asked, looking for Neville's genuine opinion on the dance.

"Oh, I'm not a dance kind of ghost, but I'd definitely rate it a 10. You two were so into the dance and I loved watching it!" Neville responded.

The man looked as if he was about to jump for joy upon hearing Neville's response. He would clap repeatedly for a little bit, and the woman seemed to follow suit. Soon enough, the two seemed to calm down as silence soon fell over the Ball Room. Both ghosts were now near Neville, and it seemed that now was the chance to finally get their names.

"Say, uh, you never introduced yourselves. What's your names? If you're curious, my name is Neville." The bookworm said.

For a reason that Neville couldn't seem to identify, the two looked surprised by his response. Both ghosts went into a sort of dramatic pose, seeming almost embarrassed or just upset. Needless to say, the mustachioed specter didn't quite understand the motive behind it.

"Oh no! Please forgive me, I feel terrible for having forgotten such an important thing! Me and my wife here were known as the Whirlindas in life, since that's our surname. We were the local waltz champions! But, alas, we aren't allowed to compete anymore, since we're ghosts. Our feet no longer touch the ground, heh...My name is Beaumont. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mon amie!" The man responded.

"I concur, it is lovely having the opportunity to meet another ghost! My name is Amélie, monsieur Neville."

Neville wore a bit of a surprised look upon seeing the two (the man, especially) seem to show so much regret over missing the opportunity to introduce themselves earlier. However, he didn't see it as much of a problem - it was a simple oversight, one that he himself did sometimes. Beaumont and Amélie seemed to have calmed down, however. The studious ghost figured that he had spent enough time with these ghosts - he wanted to move on now and meet other ghosts.

"I'm sorry to leave so soon - I enjoyed watching your dance, and you seem like such nice ghosts - but I'm afraid I'll have to leave. I'm on a mission to explore this whole mansion and meet everyone in it. Uh, if you're curious, there's a door right next to yours that leads to the Dining Room, home of another ghost. If you want to go say hi to him, you can!" Neville said.

A look of disappointment went on the faces of the Whirlindas. But they soon agreed to let him leave, giving a nod in response and waving "goodbye".

"Well...All right, then. It was great having you, monsieur Neville! Safe travels, now, and good luck on your exploration." Beaumont Whirlinda said.

"I couldn't have said it any better!" Amélie Whirlinda added.

Promptly, Neville phased through the door. He was met with the same hallway he was in before. Now, he had a choice of where he wished to go - he could go further north and reach a part of the hallway that he could either go right or left through, or he could go south to get to the part of the hallway with the door he entered the room from. After some consideration, Neville decided to go south, down to the part of the hallway he started from. Thinking about the eccentric but fun nature of his encounter with the dancing ghosts, he went down to that familiar part of the hallway, soon going as far right as he could. He was met with a door, like before, and so he decided to phase through it.

After entering, Neville came across a fleet of stairs that lead far down. Not wanting to explore that part of the mansion quite yet, Neville went back into the hallway. He looked around, searching for another room he could go through. Soon, his eyes found a door that was very close to the stairway door. What could possibly lie behind this one? What kind of ghost could it be? Would it be stocky or skinny? Tall or short? Neville's mind burned with curiosity as he stared at the door he stood in front of...


End file.
